Christy McClendon is the President and CEO of New Pathways for Youth, a transformational organization that empowers youth to fulfill their potential. They serve young people, ages 12-21, experiencing poverty and adversity. Christy gets vulnerable and shares that when she was 18, her mother passed, starting a series of realizations and lessons that shapes Christy's life to this day. Catherine and Christy talk about the power of getting to know yourself really well, how to do it, and what it can create in your life when you do. The youth that New Pathways serve experience four times the adversity of other youth—adversities such as parent incarceration, abuse and neglect, substance abuse, and high school dropout. Through 1:1 mentoring and evidence-based personal development and life skills retreats and workshops, their youth create breakthroughs in self destructive thought patterns that lead to actions consistent with the future they want. They have transformed more than 7,000 lives since their founding.
How to Change the World